Metered Access

Crain's Detroit Business is a metered site. Print and digital subscribers have unlimited access to stories, but registered users are limited to eight stories every 30 days. After viewing three metered stories, you'll be asked to register or log in. After eight more stories in 30 days, you'll be asked to subscribe.

Besides the target opening date, here's what else is new at the 2462 Riopelle St. distillery:

The tasting room will be run by Chuck Gellasch, formerly of Sugar House in Corktown.

A 60-gallon pot still is on its way from Germany; it will be used for whiskey, gin and vodka. (From the 60 gallons, an average of 5-10 gallons of drinkable spirits are made.)

The partners in the distillery are planning to use some local ingredients for production of the whiskey. "We have access to the regional food systems — from grains, to herbs, to the farmers in Eastern Market," Forsyth said. Some of the wheat being used, for example, is grown at the Laingsburg, Mich., family farm of distiller J.P. Jerome.

Corktown's Gold Cash Gold taking shape

Photo by Anjana Schroeder/Crain's Detroit Business
Developer Phil Cooley (right) and chef Josh Stockton stand outside the three-story Gold Cash Gold building that is being renovated from a former pawn shop to restaurant on Michigan Avenue in Corktown.

Phil Cooley, owner of Slows Bar BQ in Corktown, is working on getting the carpet off the walls, literally, from the old pawn shop, Gold Cash Gold, down the street.

O'Connor Development, under Diamonds & Rifles LLC and Gold Cash Gold LLC, is renovating the three-story vacant building at 2100 Michigan Ave. The $1.9 million project will result in a first-floor restaurant that will assume the same name — Gold Cash Gold — and six apartment units above.

Cooley said the restaurant, which has been in the works for about two years, will seat 80 people inside and have space for up to 30 on the back patio, with plans to build a front patio next year. The restaurant is under construction, but the apartments, which should be completed this month, are the priority.

"Overall look and design will be influenced by its history," said Cooley, with plans to do a lot of repurposing and antiquing to save on design costs.

Cooley also offered a sneak preview of the Gold Cash Gold menu, which he said will have a southern and French influence. This comes from the restaurant's newly appointed chef, Josh Stockton, who worked at Blackberry Farm in Tennessee and the Wynn hotel in Las Vegas.

Photo by Anjana Schroeder/Crain's Detroit Business
Gold Cash Gold Chef Josh Stockton looks around where the the future restaurant's bar will be located and the arched entryway into the dining room.

Stockton said the menu will change frequently with specialty charcuterie and seasonal pickles, for instance. A special Sunday family dinner recipe is also planned.

Torino chef honored

Torino in Ferndale is on the radar once again. Chef and General Manager Garrett Lipar, 26, is among the 50 semifinalists for the 2014 Eater Young Guns. "I didn't think anyone from Detroit would get it, but it's great because we get to represent our state as a whole."

Noah Dorfman opened Torino on the first floor of the Lofts on 9 in July 2011. Lipar began working at Torino in February 2013, when it was a European-style coffee and cocktails place. It debuted its tasting menu concept in June 2013.

Zingerman's offers camp for bacon lovers

If you don't love bacon, you might want to stay away from Zingerman's Cornman Farms in Dexter, where bacon makers, chefs and fans will gather to enjoy all things pork. Zingerman's fifth annual camp bacon is planned for May 29-June 1 and will benefit University of Mississippi-based Southern Foodways Alliance, which studies and celebrates diverse food cultures of the Southern United States.

Camp Director Joanie Hales said, "Over the course of the four days you will have a chance to hear from some of the best bacon producers in the country, taste as much bacon as you could possibly imagine, meet new people who share your love of bacon and enjoy great conversation with great people."